CHAPTER FOUR
Upon returning to the safehouse, Ethan set about tending to Ilsa's wounds as Luther and Benji looked through Jorje Gonzales' documents. Ethan delicately pulled a bullet fragment from Ilsa's shoulder. She winced slightly when he cleaned and bandaged the wound, prompting him to touch her cheek.
"You shouldn't have taken that bullet for me," he muttered.
Smiling, she gave his hand a reassuring pat. "I'm all right. You're such a hypocrite. You'd take an entire magazine for me."
"This man, Gonzales, is a genius. Completely mental, but a genius," Benji noted.
Luther had to agree. "His weapons are the deadliest I've seen."
"Then we definitely need to destroy them," Ethan said.
"Perfect. We'll just whip up some sort of explosive charge, have you two drop it in, hit the switch from a far, and Bob's your Uncle," Benji said.
"No," Ilsa said. "There are explosives in that warehouse that would trigger an even larger explosion if detonated. An explosion that could wipe out more than the entire city."
Luther looked over the documents again. "She's right. If we detonated these, we'd destroy half of South America."
"If we can't blow them up, how are we going to destroy them? You wouldn't have time to destroy each weapon individually. It'd need to be something on a large scale," Benji said.
"In the specs Jorje Gonzales showed us at the meeting, every gun and explosive he's made is triggered by a technological component. If we can set off an electrical charge to fry the triggering mechanism, those weapons would be useless. Then, we take Gonzales into custody and destroy his work. We'll also need to get Carlo. That'd be the end of this threat," Ethan said.
Luther nodded. "I can put something together to destroy the triggering mechanisms. Everything I need is in these documents."
"And I can make a smaller explosive device. Something to blow Gonzales' office and all his papers," Benji offered.
"We have to be ready at eight o'clock tomorrow," Ethan reminded them.
Benji waved him off. "Consider it done."
"Good. Try to get some rest in there somewhere. Ilsa and I will discuss how to take down Gonzales and Carlo," Ethan added.
Ethan and Ilsa went to their room to discuss Gonzales and Carlo, though the conversation didn't last long. They soon climbed into bed to snag a few hours of sleep. Ethan held onto Ilsa with a tight grip, knowing if that bullet had been an inch down it would have gone through her heart. She quietly kissed his hands as if to say I'm all right, it's all right, we're all right…
Come morning, Luther and Benji had finished their projects. They settled onto the couches to get some sleep. Ethan and Ilsa were still sleeping as well. Outside of the safehouse, Carlo's men had been hiding all night. They had used technology given to them by Gonzales to read body signatures inside of the house. That told them there were four agents, and two of them were sharing a bed—closely.
This information, coupled with footage of Ethan and Ilsa at the warehouse, made Carlo feel fairly certain that Ilsa was with Ethan. That was ideal for his purposes.
"Is it a go?" Carlo's man asked on his comm device.
Carlo responded. "It's a go."
"Move," the man ordered.
Carlo's men came down on the safehouse. They broke the windows and hurled tear gas inside. The team instantly woke up. Benji and Luther hurried to collect their gear. Ethan and Ilsa pulled the guns from under their pillows. However, the men were quick and outnumbered the team.
The battle between Ethan, Ilsa, and Carlo's men was impressive. That did not mean that they won. The men took Ilsa from the house. Before Ethan could try to stop them, Luther and Benji yanked Ethan to the back door. They forced him into the back seat of their car. Benji took the wheel while Luther sat in the front. Ethan tried to force his way into the driver's seat.
"They have Ilsa!" Ethan hissed.
"And we know where they'll be," Luther responded as he pushed Ethan onto the back seat once more. "We can't get her now. We can't."
Benji chimed in. "Don't worry, Ethan. We'll get her back. I'm sure she's fine. I'd bet that right now she's giving them hell."
Ethan's heart slammed against his ribcage. This was all too familiar. People had taken Julia from him in the past. Now, it was happening again…and he believed it was all his fault.
I'm coming for you, Ilsa. I'm coming, Ethan thought to himself. Just hang on.
At the warehouse, Carlo's men dragged Ilsa through the front door. They had tied her hands together, and a gag was in her mouth. Carlo and Gonzales were waiting for her. When they tossed her at Carlo's feet, Ilsa popped upright and leapt onto the nearest guard. Her thighs wrapped around his neck and brought him to the floor.
She was ready to bolt when Carlo pulled one of Gonzales' handguns from his pocket. He held it at her chest. "I wouldn't try anything else, senorita. I know you're with Ethan Hunt, and I know he'll be here tonight to collect you. Don't expect us to let that happen. Men, go tie her up. Make sure it's tight. This one is smart."
The men took Ilsa to a room in the back. They tied her firmly to a chair and had guards cover each side of her. She kept her eyes peeled for any opportunity to escape. When Ethan came for her, she wanted to greet him without ropes.
Eight o'clock was quickly approaching. Ethan, Benji, and Luther spent their day preparing their plan. Luther had created the perfect gadget to destroy the weapons, and Benji's bomb was sure to get the job done. The only concern they had was Ethan. Gonzales' weapons could not exist by morning. If they were sold, it could mean World War III.
Yet, Carlo had Ilsa. That was in the forefront of Ethan's mind, and they knew it.
Shortly before eight o'clock, the team's car pulled up to a spot not far from the warehouse. Ethan took his gear and suited up. He prepared to exit the vehicle, but Luther stopped him. He used his gentlest tone.
"Remember the mission, Ethan. And make sure you're clear when you activate the electric pulse."
"You just be ready for us," Ethan returned.
With that, Ethan left the car and moved to the warehouse. He figured they wouldn't think he was dumb enough to use the vent twice. Using pinpoint accuracy, he threw a treble hook onto the roof. He shimmied up his rope, swinging directly through the vent. That landed him on the loft.
The security room lit up with alerts. "Intruder! Hunt is in the building!"
A line of guards came to fire at Ethan. He leapt from the loft to the ground. Men charged him, but he fought his way to their weapons' inventory. All he had to do was put receivers on the weapons at the corners. The electric pulse would be activated later, taking out the entire room.
Ethan didn't see Ilsa near the weapons. He moved to Gonzales' office next. Luckily, Gonzales was inside. Ethan simply tossed his explosive device into the office and retreated. He blew the entire room, killing Gonzales and destroying his work.
"Ethan!" Carlo shouted.
He whipped around, seeing that Carlo had Ilsa at gunpoint. He put up a hand. "Let her go, Carlo. This is between you and me."
"I can see why you like this one. Beautiful and strong," Carlo commented. He cocked the hammer of his gun. "It'd be a shame to kill her. I won't…if you do what I ask."
"What are your terms?" Ethan asked.
Just then, the doors opened. The true North Korean rebels entered with several suitcases of money. Carlo grinned. "They've come to take my entire stock. Either you let them leave this warehouse—and the country—with the weapons, or I will blow your woman's brains out."
Ethan felt the remote for Luther's electric pulse device in his pocket. He couldn't activate while he and Ilsa were still in the warehouse. It'd surely kill them both. If he let the North Koreans take the weapons onto their truck and then activated it, he'd kill the North Koreans and the weapons. However, if he didn't activate it in time, they'd leave with those weapons.
That was a risk he was willing to take.
"Fine, Carlo. They can have the weapons," Ethan said.
Benji's voice screeched in Ethan's comm. "What the hell are you doing?"
"The North Koreans can take the weapons out of here, and I will not interfere," Ethan said slowly.
"Oh, I see. You're going to let them take the weapons and then activate the pulse. Gotcha," Benji said.
Ilsa, who was still gagged, gave Ethan a concerned glance. He discreetly showed her the remote in his hand. She got the idea, responding by showing him the nail clippers she had pickpocketed from Carlo. While she started on her ropes, Ethan kept Carlo's attention.
"I know you hate me for putting you in prison, but there has to be some part of you that knows you belong there," he taunted.
Carlo glared. "You should watch your tongue. My trigger finger is twitchy."
Several tense moments passed. The North Koreans had loaded the final weapon onto their gigantic truck. Ethan nodded at Ilsa. She nodded back. They were at the end.
Ilsa broke through her ropes. She pulled the gag from her mouth and punched Carlo across the nose. Ethan rushed Carlo to get the gun from him. In the collision, the remote to the electric pulse was dropped.
Carlo threw Ethan aside, so Ilsa went in with a powerful kick. When Ethan saw Carlo hit Ilsa in the gut, he tackled Carlo. The rumble of the North Koreans' truck shook the floor. Ethan realized he needed to activate the pulse before the truck was out of range. He left Carlo to reach for the remote.
Yet, Carlo had Ilsa in a chokehold. She was struggling for air. Ethan completely forgot about the remote and pried Carlo off Ilsa. Their fight continued until Ethan picked up Carlo's gun and shot Carlo through the head. He threw the gun aside and hurried to Ilsa.
"Are you okay?" he asked her urgently.
She nodded breathlessly. "I'm all right. Are you?"
"I'm fine," he said. Suddenly, he recalled the truck. He frantically looked for the remote on the floor, but he couldn't find it. "The remote! The truck is getting out of range!"
And they were getting away with the deadliest weapons ever created.